If you look at the sky at night, often the first thing you see is the Moon. If you get to know the sky, you'll see the Moon traveling through in a different group of stars each evening. Even though this is the most dominant feature of the night, it's not something that is emphasized in Western astrology.

Indian astrology, on the other hand, considers that placement of the Moon within a group of stars to be very important. In fact, they have as much information on the 27 lunar mansions (or nakshatras) as the zodiac signs themselves. They are used just like signs - for personality description, job and relationship information, all the usual things and then some. Why are the lunar mansions missing from Western astrology?

This is a very good question. And though they are missing and have been for a very long time, perhaps this was not always the case. Let's go back to the inspirational Odyssey by Homer.

If you were reading this column in most of 2006 and early 2007 you know Homer's tale takes us through the signs chapter by chapter. In the last part of Pisces chapter 12, they come to an island where *they were not to eat the cattle!* This was very important. It was even mentioned in prior chapters - if they ate the sacred cattle on this particular island everything would be lost. As it turns out the crew caved in to hunger. They ate the cattle, and all died. Odysseus alone (who didn't eat the cattle) made it back home.

The key point of this is not that doom befell the crew, but that this story is the last part of Pisces which is also the last sign of the zodiac. In the Indian astrology, the last lunar mansion is called Revati. Like signs, each lunar mansion has a ruling planet, certain characteristics and so on. Each nakshatra also has a ruling deity. The god of Revati is called Pushan, guardian of the flocks and herds.

Let's review: Indian lunar mansion at the end of the zodiac - deity who protects herds. Homer's Odyssey, last part of Pisces chapter, an island where they are not supposed to eat the sacred cattle. Connection? I think so!

This is just one good example. There are more. Another of the Indian nakshatras is called Pushya in the stars of Cancer. It is a giving and abundant lunar mansion, and a cow's udder is one of the symbols for this reason. In the first part of Homer's Cancer chapter 4 (where Pushya would be) King Menelaus tells of a land so bountiful that the ewes give birth 3 times a year "so no one, neither king nor shepherd could want for cheese or mutton, or sweet milk either, udders swell for the sucklings round the year."

It isn't Homer's style to cover just 2 of 27 nakshatras; they are all in there, woven into stories of the signs. It is my view that ancient Greek astrology knew about the lunar mansions as the Indians did, or perhaps there was a common source of knowledge to have such similarities.

Just in case you wondering, the standard academic view of history is that a connection between India and Greece at that time was impossible. But hey, Greece wasn't supposed to even have astrology until several hundred years after Homer anyway. Here's to improbable yet entirely likely given the evidence auspicious connections! It's that kind of week.

What does all this mean to you, dear reader? When you go outside and see the Moon, try to figure out what stars lie nearby. Here's a good a list of the lunar mansions as any I've found online. Remember the zodiac positions are not tropical (what most of us are used to) but based on the stars, so if you know planet positions subtract 24 degrees to get to the star-based position.

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Insights of the signs as written by Homer help me predict the stock market each day. While most of my work focuses on intraday moves, check the section "Swing trading - big picture" for a general take on the market. 

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Wandering Stars - the planets